This gorgeous stinkhorn is easily separated from other veiled stinkhorns – such as Phallus indusiatus and Phallus multicolor – by its cinnabar red skirt. Like other stinkhorns, this fungus emerges from an egg-like sack, with a cap covered in a sticky, foul-smelling, spore-filled gleba, that will be eaten and carried far away by the flies that it attracts. You can see a few flies polishing off the last of the gleba here, which is mostly gone, revealing the red cap beneath.
As far as I know, the edibility of this variety is not known, but its close relative Phallus indusiatus, similar except for a pure white skirt,are considered choice edibles, while stinkhorn ‘eggs’ of all varieties are eaten, though they are not among the best culinary fungi.
Beautiful mushroom, but did they basically name it “cinnamon penis”?
YES! the entire genus is named for thier distinctly… dickish shape. P. indusiatus is edible/tasty and used to be thought to increase virility and longevity, but modern testing has been inconclusive. Here’s a gif of P. indusiatus blooming, becuase it’s still my favorite fungus:
(P. indusiatus roughly translates to “Penis with a pretty skirt)
